Various methods have been proposed for aligning and connecting optical communication fibers without causing a significant loss in light output to occur at the point of connection. The methods generally employed require sophisticated optical alignment instrumentation and complex mechanical assembleges to ensure that the optical cores are in precise alignment.
Relatively inexpensive optical communication fibers containing a high quality glass core and a plastic cladding layer have been developed for relatively short-haul systems where the loss requirements are not prohibitively stringent. The low cost advantage with the plastic clad glass core fibers is lost when expensive mechanical fiber connectors of the aforementioned design are required. The purpose of this invention is to provide a low cost efficient optical fiber connector for use in short-haul optical communications systems.